National Origin Discrimination

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National Origin Discrimination Attorney in Dallas

Dedicated Counsel When You Need it Most

It’s important that employees with ancestry from other countries are treated the same as all other employees. Your employer should never act based on your perceived or actual national origin. There may be a small overlap between national origin discrimination and racial discrimination, but it’s important to note that they are two different types of discrimination. Our Dallas national origin discrimination trial lawyers are committed to helping people combat this kind of behavior.

If you’ve been harmed by this type of employer misconduct, it’s important to reach out to a local legal firm that specializes in national origin discrimination. Call Scott Gilmore Thompson today at (214) 238-8444 to begin.

Various Types of National Origin Discrimination

National origin discrimination is prohibited by both state and federal law. Employers cannot make any type of employment decision because of your national origin. The employer should not assign job duties, hire, compensate, fire, promote, or demote based on your nation of origin.

In some situations, national origin discrimination happens when an employee is treated negatively because of their association with or their marriage to someone with a specific ethnic background or different national origin. It’s also possible for national origin discrimination to occur even if the perpetrator and the victim of the discrimination have the same nation of origin. There’s no legal requirement that the perpetrator and victim be of different national backgrounds for discrimination to occur.

Harassment is one kind of national origin discrimination. Harassment may consist of negative or offensive remarks about your accent, national origin, or ethnicity. An attorney specializing in national origin discrimination would need to demonstrate that the remarks created a hostile workplace, altering the terms and conditions of employment, and were pervasive or severe.

This type of hostile work environment harassment is illegal if it is based on the perception of a manager, supervisor, coworker, customer, or client’s idea that you are of a specific national origin, even if it is inaccurate. If, for example, you regularly receive postcards of camels in the mail, and are then called negative names because a coworker believes that you are from Iran, even if you are actually from Italy, then complain to your supervisor who tells you to get over it, this is national origin harassment.

This Type of Discrimination
is Illegal

An accent can be related to your national origin. Discrimination because of your accent is an example of national origin discrimination. Your employer cannot make an employment decision on this type of characteristic.

If you have a solid command of spoken English, or that you do your job well while speaking English with an accent, there’s a good chance that your employer is violating Title VII if they discriminate against you because of your accent.

Some employers attempt to enforce rules about only speaking English in the workplace. These rules can also constitute national origin discrimination. There is no reason to have an English-only rule unless it is vital for the business to operate safely. In most situations, there’s no reason that you should be kept from speaking in an alternative language.

“He negotiated a favorable settlement not long after the employer was brought into the case.”

- Ken B.

Speak with a National Origin Discrimination Attorney Today

Our state has a large number of individuals from other regions and countries. Employers should never take action against you just because you appear to come from another country or have roots in a different place. It can be extremely difficult to face national origin discrimination in the workplace. You may be able to receive damages for your loss. In addition, it is illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee for submitting a complaint.


Learn more by contacting our national origin discrimination lawyer in Dallas today. We can help you better understand your situation during a free case evaluation.


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